How to Add Ports to Your PC

Consider adding ports to an older PC. Although adding or upgrading ports doesn’t speed up your computer, you can connect a wider range of external devices if you have additional ports — and those devices are likely to run faster, transferring data to and from your PC at many times the rate of your pokey old serial ports and parallel ports.

Just remove the cover from your PC and add an adapter card to one of the open slots on your motherboard. Here are the major differences and what each type of port can do for you:

USB 2.0: This faster version of the USB port has blazing speed and can connect to older USB 1.x hardware. USB 2.0 can add state-of-the-art, modern portage (ports for scanners, external hard drives, CD/DVD recorders, fax machines, printers, and the like) to your PC.

FireWire: If you want to upgrade your PC for use with your DV camcorder — or if you’re interested in adding a fast external hard drive or DVD recorder — FireWire is your port of choice.

Also, FireWire peripherals are usually easy to share with Mac owners because every modern Mac made within the past five years has at least one FireWire port.